Patsy (“Pat”) Llewellyn McCormick- Goodhart, a pioneer who helped found Hospice of the Piedmont, showing her trademark joie de vivre.

continued on page 2 �

A HOP PIONEERC o m e s H o m e t o D i e

Don’t forget—when you shop on Amazon.com, you can support Hospice of the Piedmont with each purchase you make—it’s so easy! Just go to www.smile.amazon.com, log in to your Amazon account, and choose Hospice of the Piedmont as your charitable organi- zation! Make sure you choose Hospice of the Piedmont Inc., based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and founded in 1980, from the list of charity options.

Once you select HOP as your AmazonSmile organization, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the

price of your eligible purchases to HOP. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know—same products, same prices, same service. The only difference is HOP will benefit when you shop! Select HOP as your charitable organization through AmazonSmile today and know that, each time you shop, you’re supporting HOP’s

work in your community!4 | Insider

Hospice of the Piedmont will be featured on a segment

of Charlottesville Inside-Out, airing Thursday, February 25, at 8:30 p.m. The program airs in Charlottesville on WHTJ-PBS Channel 41.1 (over-the-air), Cable 7 (basic SD), Cable 220 (HD 16x9), Dish 41 (satellite), DIRECTV 41 (satellite), and WCVE Channel 23.1 (over-the-air) in Richmond. Charlottesville Inside-Out is hosted by local singer-songwriter Terri Allard and is in

its eighth season. On each 30-minute program, Terri shines a spotlight on the places and faces that make

Charlottesville unique. We hope you’ll tune in on Thursday, February 25, at 8:30 p.m. to WHTJ-PBS and watch Hospice of the Piedmont in action as Terri interviews the wife of a former HOP patient.

A Publication of Hospice of the PiedmontW I N T E R 2 0 1 6

2

3

4

Grateful words from our patients’ families

Mark Warner helps HOP celebrate Veterans Day

Tune in to Charlottesville Inside-Out on February 25!

The hospice move-ment in Charlottesville came full circle when one of Hospice of the Piedmont’s founding members came under our care for terminal cancer in fall 2015. Patsy (“Pat”) Llewellyn McCormick-Goodhart,

a longtime citizen of Charlottesville, was one of the first community members in the early 1980s to gather and mobilize a group of healthcare professionals, law-yers, educators, and other citizens into the Board of Directors that would found Hospice of the Piedmont. Patsy’s motivation to start a local hos-pice began after her father died a horrible, agonizing death in 1979, her husband Jim McCormick-Goodhart recalled. “She became angry at God,” Jim said. Then she shared her disillusionment with her good friend Josefina “Jo” Bautista Magno, MD who developed some of the first hospices in the U.S. Jo advised her, “Don’t get mad; start a hospice movement in your com-munity.” From there, Pat began motivating her friends across the community to become involved in this important movement. Because the hospice movement was brand new and not terribly well known in the U.S. in the early ‘80s, many of the connections she sought to engage as board members

at first turned her down. But she was relentless, her husband recalled. “She would call, day after day, even though they kept saying ‘no,’” he said. Moreover, “her desire to start this hospice locally was not only about wanting people to have a dignified death; it was also because she truly cared about and wanted to take care of people.” Alongside her friend, Asha Greer, another original HOP officer and Board member, Pat said she “dug in and got started.” During the initial two- to three-year founding period, Pat traveled with a friend to Europe to meet Cicely Saunders, the nurse credited with bringing the hospice movement from Europe to the U.S. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, Pat and her friend were unable to connect with Cicely because her friend’s father passed away the day they were all to meet. Despite this, Pat recalled that, by then, she “knew what had to be done and the people who could do it.” A well-known and well-liked community member, Pat put her skills to work. Eventually, after much effort, Pat convinced her friends and colleagues across Charlottesville, and a 22-person Board of Directors for Hospice of the Piedmont was formed. The process of forming what would be Charlottesville’s inaugural hospice orga-nization was a long and, at times, difficult process. Jim recalled that it took Pat two full years to obtain the Certificate of Need and Insurance for the organization. But Pat was passionate about the cause and the organization, so she pressed on.

The name “Hospice of the Piedmont”was first suggested at an organizational meeting in May 1980, pending the approval of the National Hospice Organi-zation, according to the book Sharing the Journey—The First Thirty Years of Hospice of the Piedmont, by R. Tal Haynes. Around that same time, volunteers were trained and the mechanics of the organization began to move. In total, Pat spent around three years working toward official formation of HOP. She left the organization to pursue other interests once it was off the ground. Pat and Jim were married and moved to Virginia Beach, where they worked with Edmarc Hospice for Children. After a few years, Pat and Jim returned to Charlottesville and her good friend Scott Hamrick, a former principal of Clark Elementary School, was at the end of his life when he spoke to Pat about devel-oping a new patient advocacy group at Martha Jefferson Hospital. The group’s goal would be to care for patients—to sit with them in their room, bring a book if they wanted it—anything to attend to their needs and keep them company

See HOP in Action on Charlottesville Inside-Out !

Charlottesville Inside-Out host Terri Allard interviews the wife of a former HOP patient on the February 25 program.

HOPNL915

� The program streams online at ideastations.org/watch/charlottesville-inside-out. �

TO SUPPORT HOP

SHOP WITH

2016 Run & Remember

5K

Runners who participated in the 2015 Run & Remember 5K enjoyed a beautiful new course that traversed the

grounds of Keswick Hall, Golf Club & Estate.

MAY 7, 2016

Who knew today would be his last?A rapid decline, one last breath, a final squeeze of the eyes— the orgasm of a soul set free.One minute to listen for a pulse. 60 seconds to review a life well lived. One minute—one very long minute to hold back tears, stethoscope to unmoving chest. 60 seconds to gaze upon the face of a man well loved.One minute. 525,600 minutes 79 years. 60 seconds for an unspoken benediction: Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before his face with exceeding joy.One minute. 60 seconds. No pulse.In my father’s house there are many rooms.One minute. Sixty seconds. Promoted to glory.

O.D.E. (One Death Examined) By Lee Read, RN, BSN RN Case Manager,

Hospice of the Piedmont

We hope you can join us for the 2016 Run &

Remember 5K, which will be held

on Saturday, May 7, 2016, at Keswick Hall, Golf Club & Estate. The annu-al run/walk event is a wonderful, family-friendly event on one of the area’s most beautiful courses around Keswick Estate. All of the proceeds from the Run & Remember 5K benefit Hospice of the Piedmont’s work to provide end-of-life care and grief support in our community. Last year’s Run & Remember 5K run/walk was the most successful ever—thanks to you! We are so grate-ful to our many generous community sponsors and donors, all the runners and walkers who attend the race, and the many dedicated volunteers who make the 5K possible year after year—we could not do it without your support, time, and energy! We hope we can count on seeing you again this year! For more informa-tion about the Run & Remember 5K, visit our website: www.hopva.org/5k

6480 HOP NL Winter2016.indd 1-2 1/8/16 2:22 PM

2 | Insider

Hospice of the Piedmont

Insider | 3

1. Communication of Information Families said that they appreciated the

way hospice caregivers kept them reg-ularly informed about their loved one’s condition, medications prescribed, and what to expect as the illness progressed.

2. Families’ Need for Support Receiving emotional and spiritual

support was important to families: research showed that caregivers and family members are less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety when they receive hospice care.

3. Coordination of Care Hospice families found it helpful that

one nurse was in charge—but all hos-pice team members were knowledge-able about—the patient’s overall care and medical condition.

4. Pain Control and Patient Support Family members appreciated knowing

that hospice professionals would teach family members how to effectively manage any physical symptoms their loved one could have.

Research proves what we have known for more than 35 years in Virginia: hospice care continues to meet and exceed the needs of seriously ill patients and their families. Thank you for ensuring that Hospice of the Piedmont—your community hospice—will continue to serve you and your neighbors for years to come. With deep appreciation,

James A. Avery, MD CEO, Hospice of the Piedmont

“ Thank you for the care you provided to my sweet mama. Our desire was to keep her at home and do whatever we needed to do to keep her comfortable. We greatly appreciate your professionalism and passion as you cared for her.”

“ I would like to express my appreciation to the bereavement coordinators and support group. The bereavement coordinator really has a gift for guiding, allowing, and creating a safe situation for expression, for listening, and for quiet. We are so appreciative of all you do!”

“ I’ll be forever grateful for the special gifts provided by the Hospice of the Piedmont staff. You all filled my mother’s final journey with loving kindness and expert care. You will always have a special place in my heart.”

“ Thank you for all your support and help taking care of my mother during her final days. Your guidance, kindness, and wisdom allowed me to make sure her final days were peaceful and I can’t thank you enough for that. Also, thank you for the cards and letters you sent me after her death. Your continued support has meant the world to me. ”

Though Joseph Ryan (who goes by “Ryan”) has a fine arts degree, he always thought he might want to pursue a career in nursing. His desire to pursue that career grew stronger when his mother-in-law—who lived in the Bronx, NY, at the time—was dying of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2009. After Ryan and his wife convinced his mother-in-law, Beverly, to move to Virginia to be closer to family during the final stages of her life, she set-tled at a senior living community. She was receiving curative treatment, but finally decided that she was done with that line of treatment and ready for palliative care. “She said she was ready to be back with her [deceased] husband,” Ryan recalled. At that time, Ryan and his wife called Hospice of the Piedmont, knowing that she would need the kind of round-the-clock care and pain management that she wasn’t necessarily afforded at the senior living community. Immediately, her HOP care team made a huge difference in her comfort level. “When she’d complain about being in pain, her nurse would immediate-ly take care of it for her,” Ryan recalled. Ryan’s mother-in-law was under the care

of Hospice of the Piedmont for four weeks before she passed, and her HOP nurse was by her side when she died. Around the time of her death, Ryan was laid off from his job. He was convinced that this was his chance to pur-sue that other career he’d always had in the back of his mind, so he applied and was accepted to the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing. All the while, he said he knew that he would find a way to come work for the organization that had such a profound impact on his mother-in-law’s final journey. In fact, upon his acceptance to nursing school, Ryan became trained as a HOP volunteer, and began volunteering with patients at the Hospice House throughout his years in nursing school. Upon graduation from nursing school in 2013, he took a temporary two-year position with UVA. Two years later, in

August 2015, he saw an opening for an RN Case Manager position at Hospice of the Piedmont and knew this was his chance to return to the organization that had given so much to his family. Ryan joined the HOP team as an RN Case Manager in October 2015. “I was inspired by the dedication of the staff, and wanted to provide to others the peace of mind that Hospice of the Piedmont gave me in the same situation,” said Ryan.

Last Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2015, Hospice of the Piedmont honored the region’s veterans with a special program and ceremony held at the American Legion Post 74. The ceremony featured remarks by Senator Mark Warner and a pinning ceremony, performed by Sen. Warner, that recognized nine World War II veterans from the American Legion. “On behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am thrilled to be here today to recognize our nation’s heroes. Hospice care is incredibly important, and I am honored to participate in this event in conjunction with Hospice of the Piedmont, which cele-

brates all Virginia veter-ans receiving hospice care,” Sen. Warner said at the event. “Today is a special day to give

our veterans thanks and recognition, but it’s

important to remember to honor these men and women each and every day.” Through our “We Honor Veterans” pro-gram, Hospice of the Piedmont identifies and aims to meet the unique needs of veterans at the end of life. Focused on respectful inquiry, compassionate listen-ing, and acknowledgement of service that is sensitive to each veteran’s preferences, the “We Honor Veterans” program enables our professional staff and trained volun-teers to provide the highest quality care to the nation’s veterans and their families. To learn more about the “We Honor Veterans” program, email veterans@hopva.org.

during their stay at the hospital. Pat was as passionate in her involvement with this group as she was with HOP. After a lifetime of helping people through social ministry and patient advo- cacy, Pat became a HOP patient herself in the fall of 2015. In May 2015, she was diagnosed with mullerian adenocarcin- oma. She received three chemotherapy treatments starting in June, but her body was barely able to survive the grueling treatment, according to Jim. By mid- September, after learning that the aggres- sive chemotherapy treatments had not contained the cancer, she had a frank conversation with her doctor. “Honestly and truthfully,” she asked him

about her future treatment options, “what would you do if you were me?” “Honestly and truthfully, I would stop treatment, and spend quality time with friends and family,” he said. And so she did—she went home and Hospice of the Piedmont began caring for her there in mid-September. During her time at home, she and her husband entertained a steady stream of visitors—friends and family from across the community and the state who came to visit with Pat. She remained lively and congenial to all who came to see her—just as she had her whole life. Pat passed away peacefully at home on November 6, 2015.

Letter from Jim

HOP Pioneer…continued from page 1

Senator Mark Warner Joins HOP T O H O N O R L O C A L V E T E R A N S

Grateful WordsFROM OUR PATIENTS’ FAMILIES

Dear Friend, Recent studies have shown that families give top marks to the care they receive from hospice nationally. At Hospice of the Piedmont—your community hospice—we consistently surpass the national average: in 2015, 97.8% of the families we served said they would “definitely or probably” recommend HOP. But, which aspects of hospice care do families value the most? To get these answers, a team of researchers analyzed survey responses of almost 117,000 family members and their results were published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

What Families Liked Best About Hospice:

“Hospice of the Piedmont

identifies and aims to meet the unique needs of veterans at the end of life. ”

(L-R): Ryan’s mom,

Bonnie; Ryan’s mother-in-law, Beverly; Ryan’s

wife, Melissa; and Ryan.

– Joe Ryan, RN

WHYHOSPICE?

Main Office: 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300 Charlottesville, VA 22911 Culpeper 1200 Sunset Lane, Suite 2320 Regional Office: Culpeper, VA 22701 www.hopva.org

Questions? Comments? Story ideas? Contact us!John Healy, Director of Advancement

434-817-6910 • john.healy@hopva.orgRachael Palm, Communications Coordinator 434-817-6929 • rachael.palm@hopva.org

6480 HOP NL Winter2016.indd 3-4 1/8/16 2:22 PM